


You Have the Right

by rebelrsr



Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: Blackmail, Established Relationship, F/F, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Minor Character Death, Murder Mystery, Not Canon Compliant, Relationship Reveal, Secret Relationship, supercat
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-31
Updated: 2020-07-31
Packaged: 2021-03-05 03:33:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,009
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25407712
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rebelrsr/pseuds/rebelrsr
Summary: Cat is accused of murdering Dirk Armstrong, but Kara knows her boss is innocent. Can she and the SuperFriends prove it, though?
Relationships: Kara Danvers/Cat Grant
Comments: 14
Kudos: 71
Collections: SuperCat Christmas in July 2020





	You Have the Right

**Author's Note:**

  * For [TheLianKing](https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheLianKing/gifts).



> The prompt: Prison/Jail AU: Either Cat or Kara get charged for a crime they didn't commit and the other tries to help out
> 
> For canon enthusiasts, I apologize. I shredded the entire S1-S2 timeline and pasted it back together with the accuracy of a Kindergartner after a Christmas party.

“Cat Grant, you’re under arrest for the murder of Dirk Armstrong. You have the right to remain…”

Hands on her hips, Kara interrupted. “Detective Aguilar, this must be a mistake. Ms. Grant is not a murderer.” She managed _not_ to roll her eyes at the thought. Cat was sharp-tongued and intolerant, sure. But murder? No way.

The detective shrugged. “The warrant says she is.” Apparently, the Power Pose only worked when Kara was in The Suit. Aguilar grabbed Cat by the elbow and towed her across the office.

Kara stumbled along behind them, trying to text Alex and Lucy at the same time. The bullpen was eerily silent for a second, every single person standing witness to Cat’s arrest.

Then the silence broke. “Ms. Grant, did you do it? Did you kill Dirk Armstrong over the emails he threatened to release?” John Simms, one of CatCo’s smarmiest field reporters, barged past Sindee’s desk with a cameraman glued to his hip.

She immediately moved to block his path, only to stop as Cat dug her Prada stilettos into the plush carpeting. “John, I know you aren’t worth the money I pay you; if you were, you’d have asked a much more intelligent question. _I_ would have led with: Who benefits from my erroneous arrest? Or, even better: What will you do once you’ve sued the State Attorney General, the District Attorney, and the National City Police Department?”

Impervious to Detective Aguilar’s frantic yanking on her arm, Cat posed for the camera.

Kara didn’t know whether to be frustrated or impressed.

“Kiera,” Cat was every bit the entitled Queen, “let James Olsen know I’ll be back in the office first thing tomorrow. I’ll need Snapper to assign one of his best investigative reporters to this story. I want to know who had the audacity to frame me and how deep the corruption goes in our hallowed Halls of Justice that I’ve been accosted over such weak evidence.”

Done providing her sound bite, Cat resumed walking with Detective Aguilar. John and the cameraman followed them to the elevator.

The moment the door closed behind the detective and Cat, the bullpen exploded with gossip.

“I bet she did it. She _hated_ Mr. Armstrong,” Kara heard Dirk’s executive assistant whisper to someone. “Did I tell you about the time…”

Super hearing was _horrible_. Kara wished (not for the first time) that she could simply turn it on and off. She ducked into the stairwell and trotted at painfully human speed up the stairs into the abandoned office she, James, and Winn often used for Supergirl related tasks.

Winn and James were both there with Lucy. “Did you find anything?” she asked as soon as she closed the door behind her.

“Nothing we didn’t know before.” Winn didn’t bother turning to face Kara. His fingers flew over his keyboard. “The threat about the emails was bogus. Everything I’ve found on the server is clean. She’s mean and cutting and brutally honest but I haven’t unearthed a single HR-worthy insult.”

“There’s nothing actionable,” Lucy summed up.

Kara stared at them in confusion. “I don’t understand.”

Lucy tossed back the last of the coffee in her Styrofoam cup with a grimace. “The police filed for the arrest warrant citing Armstrong’s blackmail attempt as a possible motive. If those emails didn’t actually pose a threat to Cat, there’s no threat of blackmail. Cat doesn’t have a motive.”

“So, they have to let Cat go.” Kara sighed in relief.

No one said anything, the only sound Winn’s typing.

“They have to let her go, right?” Kara repeated. She slumped into a chair when Lucy shook her head.

“Unfortunately, the DA’s office isn’t looking to exonerate Cat. _We_ are, and I’ll send the whole pile of information to the investigators.” Lucy stared sadly into her empty cup. “Don’t get your hopes up, though. Cat’s made a lot of enemies. Taking those emails out of the equation might not be enough to have the charges dropped. Cat and Dirk’s fight over leadership of CatCo was legendary. The _Planet_ and the _Tribune_ have both poked fun at them in cartoons and on the Op-Ed pages.”

“This is…This…This sucks! We have to do something!” Kara had always believed the American justice system was better than Krypton’s.

“I’ve already started filing injunctions and requests for dismissal.” Dark circles under her eyes, Lucy gestured to the piles of paperwork on the desk in front of her. “It’s all busy work, but it should buy us a few days to try to find something more concrete. The arraignment is scheduled for the day after tomorrow. I called in a favor to push it up, or Cat could have been sitting in the county lockup for six months.”

Winn laughed. “She’d rule the jail in less than a week.”

Kara didn’t join in the laughter. Cat didn’t belong in jail. Cat was _innocent_ – and Kara would prove it. “James, Ms. Grant wanted Snapper to put his best reporter on the case.” Whoever got assigned, _Kara_ would be better. “I’m…I’m going to grab lunch. I’ll be right back.”

It wasn’t the first time she’d had to lie to friends; however, Kara noted it was absolutely the first and only time she’d not felt guilty for doing so. She hurtled from the office, taking a bewildering path through the hallways in case Security was watching the camera feeds. She made it to the roof and took to the skies.

Flying normally calmed Kara. It was her happy place. Not today. Closing her eyes, Kara _listened_. She shut out the roar of the wind and the sounds she associated with everyday life in National City (car horns, radios and televisions, shouting) in order to hunt one rhythmic beat.

Cat’s heartbeat was far faster than usual. It raced, each galloping beat ratcheting up Kara’s anxiety and stirring her anger. Thoughts of tracking Cat’s enemies faded as Kara absorbed Cat’s heartbeat.

Her priority was Cat. She didn’t _quite_ break the sound barrier as she flew to Cat’s penthouse. The rooftop patio welcomed her. Kara loved the mix of potted fruit and fir trees and the small patch of grass in one corner. Although she’d never gotten to explore the patio as Kara Danvers (not yet), Supergirl often sought counsel there from her mentor on the rare occasions Cat was home rather than at the office.

The alarm keypad on the door to the penthouse had the same passcode as the front door. A code Cat had given her months ago. She hesitated only a second before punching in the long sequence of numbers and entering the penthouse.

The air was still. Carter had been whisked away and sent to his father the moment Cat got word that the police suspected she was involved in Dirk’s death. Kara marveled at the difference. The penthouse, despite its austere décor, normally thrummed with energy.

Unease crawled along Kara’s nerves. For once, she listened. Stock-still, she peered through the walls and floor. Nothing moved. Nothing seemed out of place. Yet…

Hands unconsciously on her hips, Kara scanned the entire penthouse again, extending up through the roof this time. She wasn’t a structural engineer, all of the beams and walls appeared fine.

She pulled back a little on the third examination. It wasn’t something she did often, and the half-formed walls juxtaposed with furniture and framed art made _everything_ undulate like the walls of a carnival fun house.

Ten minutes later, Kara growled in frustration. Nothing. Just like before.

Then nothing became something that snagged her attention out of the corner of her eye. A tiny, boxy item buried in the leaves of a Chinese evergreen. Kara recognized it (she watched _Law and Order: SVU_ and _NCIS_ , after all). She pretended to be Alex and locked her expression into a pugnacious scowl as she finished hunting for more spy cameras and microphones.

Holy _Rao_! She counted nearly a hundred cameras and even more microphones. The bastard who had planted the devices had mounted them in every room, including the bathrooms _and_ Carter’s room. Kara wanted to fry each one with her laser vision. This was Cat’s home. The one place, she’d admitted after too many glasses of Scotch, Cat felt safe from the paparazzi.

Stalking through the penthouse, she packed enough of Cat’s clothes for several days. Power suits for court and meetings with lawyers. Soft yet fashionable loungewear that cost more than Kara’s entire wardrobe. Heels and shower clogs. A makeup bag stuffed with everything on Cat’s vanity.

Her skin crawled as she left the penthouse the same way she’d entered. Kara double checked that the lock engaged then leaped into the sky. Flying higher than usual, she tapped her DEO Bluetooth earphone.

“Supergirl?”

“Agent Danvers.” Kara hated the stiffness of their conversation but pushed through. “I need your help.”

The ambient background noise from the DEO faded as if by magic. “You’re on speaker, Supergirl. What’s the threat?”

The threat? “You mean, like, an alien?”

“We’re tracking your flight path. There doesn’t seem to be anything else on the radar.” Alex was going to kill her, Kara realized. If anyone could do it, it would be Alex. “I’ve got Trap One gearing up. How can we assist?”

Kara would have closed her eyes if flying blind were possible. Instead, she stiffened her spine the way her mother used to do before addressing the Council. “I discovered spy cameras and listening devices at Cat Grant’s penthouse.”

Alex’s breath hitched.

Rushing on to avoid a blistering, official Agent Danvers’ lecture on the Proper Use of Government Assets and Supplies (not the first Kara had endured), she blurted, “Ms. Grant’s been arrested for the murder of Dirk Armstrong. The _number_ of devices was too great for mere corporate espionage. There were _hundreds_ ,” she exaggerated slightly.

“I’m afraid this is outside our purview. Perhaps you can take the information to the CatCo legal team.”

This was a solo mission then. Kara had known Alex didn’t approve of her working for (or admiring) a woman with the resources and drive to out Supergirl. Bottling her disappointment, Kara replied. “Supergirl is out of commission until further notice, Agent Danvers. I am unavailable for any alien activity, no matter the threat level.” She tapped the earphone again to disconnect the call.

Kara couldn’t call Lucy. She’d be legally obligated to turn over any evidence to the prosecution, and that might tip off whoever had planted the devices. Unsure if she was making the right decision, she dialed Winn’s number.

“Hey!” His exuberance, despite the number of hours he’d been hunched over a computer, made Kara smile.

She hurried to talk, though, in order to keep him from blurting out her name. “It’s me. Can you talk?”

Winn’s voice was far more professional. “Yes. Sorry. How can I help?”

“We have a new problem. Supergirl stopped by Ms. Grant’s penthouse. There were a bunch of listening devices and cameras. High end. Can you do your magic and maybe find out who planted them or what they recorded?”

“Of course.” Winn cleared his throat. “This isn’t a good time, though. Maybe we should bring in the cavalry?”

It took a minute for Kara to understand his comment. “It stays between you and me, Winn. It has to.” For now. Only until she could find out who had planted them.

“If that’s what you want.”

Kara sighed. She _wanted_ Cat to be in her office and this entire day erased from memory. Barring that… “Thanks, Winn. I wish there was another way. I’ll be back in the War Room as soon as I can. I’ve got a stop to make first.”

Before Kara did anything else, she needed to visit with Cat. She needed to make sure Cat was OK.

She landed behind the National City Criminal Justice Building, suitcase in hand, and realized there was yet another problem: Kara was in her Supersuit. Worse, Kara had gotten Cat’s clothing in her Supersuit _on camera_. She couldn’t change into any of the clothing she had stashed nearby.

Maybe Alex had a point. Kara sucked at strategizing or simply thinking more than a few minutes ahead of her actions. Stifling the urge to stomp her feet, Kara threw back her shoulders and marched confidently into the building.

“I’m here to see Cat Grant,” she told the wide-eyed security guard. Although Kara knew many of the NCPD officers and brass, it was rare for her to mingle with the administrative side of the legal system.

The man fumbled with the phone on his desk. “Just…just a minute, Supergirl.” She gave him her sunniest smile and waited while he whisper-shouted her request to someone on the phone.

That someone was less than impressed with Kara’s pedigree as a superhero. Kara heard the woman’s reply without deploying her enhanced hearing. “I don’t care if God the Almighty Himself,” the capital letters were loud and clear, “is doing the hula in Judge Ridgley’s courtroom. This isn’t a hotel. Inmates don’t get guests unless it’s their defense attorney.”

It had been a long and stressful day. Kara’s smile slipped as she plucked the phone from the guard’s hand. “My mother was the Senior Adjudicator for the High Council on Krypton. If that doesn’t give me the authority to visit with Cat, I’m sure the Mayor or the Governor or even the President might.” The plastic handset creaked under her fingers.

“I’ll send someone to escort you to an Attorney-Client Conference Room.”

“Thank you.” Kara handed the phone back to the guard. “Um…sorry about…” She waved a hand at the new finger indentations the handset sported.

He laughed. “No problem, Supergirl. Now I’ve got proof you were really here.” As if the throng of excited people filling the courthouse and the bright screens of dozens of phones taking video and pictures wasn’t enough.

Returning the smile, Kara let go of the frustration still riding her. Cat needed her help; something Kara couldn’t give if she lost control. “Want me to sign it, too?”

“Would you?”

“Sure.” She didn’t reach for the pen he offered. Instead, Kara took the handset back and…narrowed her eyes. Control. She could and would stay in control. Thin lasers shot from her eyes and burned her family crest into the cheap plastic. “There you go!”

Applause echoed off the marble walls and floor of the courthouse. Kara waved and posed for photos until a tall woman in a stark black jacket and pants stalked up to the security guard. “Supergirl.”

Kara didn’t bother trying to win the woman over. She picked up Cat’s roller board, gave a final round of waves and smiles to the crowd, and waited for the guard to wave her through the checkpoint.

“This way.” There was no small talk (or any talk) during the long walk to the conference room. Kara’s escort stayed several steps in front, as if hoping Kara would fall behind.

Superspeed made that unlikely; however, Kara made sure to memorize the route in case she had to find her own way out. Several minutes later, they passed through one final checkpoint and a series of locked doors.

Cat waited in a tiny room. Her face remained expressionless when Kara entered and sat down across the table from her. “Supergirl,” she drawled. “Taking a trip? You have exquisite taste in luggage. I have one like it myself.”

Now that she could see Cat, Kara relaxed. “I’d need more than a single bag. Spare suit aside, it would be a long trip to any of the planets or solar systems I visited as a child.” Her hand inched across the scarred table, stopping before making contact with Cat’s. “I thought you might need a few creature comforts until your friends and legal team get you out of here.”

 _That_ got a raised eyebrow and a familiar sneer. “Really, Supergirl? If I didn’t already know you were an alien…”

Kara Danvers warred with Supergirl in Kara’s mind. She ducked her head slightly but managed _not_ to stammer an apology. “I fully expect Ms. Lane will have you free soon. We all know that you are innocent.” Her gaze slid around the room, finding the camera mounted in one corner against the stained ceiling tiles before dropping to focus on the handcuffs pinning Cat’s wrists to the table.

“To reiterate, Cat, I _am_ an alien.” Tilting her head to obscure her face from the camera, Kara let her eyes heat as she stared at the handcuffs.

Only someone as familiar with Cat Grant as Kara would note the twitch of muscles that heralded a hint of smile. “Do stop posturing, Supergirl.” Cat’s voice was sharp; although, her eyes warm and affectionate. “Am I to believe that you, the Maid of Might and National City’s savior, rifled through my closets and drawers?”

Kara’s smile was wide and free. “I promise I hadn’t just come from a burning building or an oil spill.”

The handcuffs rattled as Cat stretched. Her fingers brushed Kara’s quickly and subtly before retreating. “I suppose I should be grateful it was you and not that Millennial disaster I hired as my assistant. She’d have packed a closet worth of granny panties and pastel cardigans.”

Silence stretched between them. Kara fought the urge to laser the camera and the handcuffs. She could have Cat out of National City before the cop stationed outside the room realized they were missing.

“Don’t you have a city to keep safe, Supergirl?” Strain tightened Cat’s voice, and Kara’s hands clenched. “Surely you have more important things to do than visit an alleged murderer.”

“You are not a murderer!” Kara snapped. She pressed her lips together, forestalling another outburst. After a deep breath, she said softly, “You are _zrhythrevium_. Until you are cleared of this charge and safely home, National City must handle any emergencies alone.”

Cat’s eyes widened. “You can’t…”

“I can. I will,” Kara vowed.

“ _Rr ip nahn jolum, Kahrah._” The rebuke was a mere whisper of sound, yet the harsh cadence of her native language stung. Cat sat back. The distance between them was suddenly insurmountable. “Guard!”

Kara stood. Held out a hand. “ _Sokao-, Cat. Kh ap :zhao rrip_!”

The door opened, and the cop entered. “We’re finished,” Cat announced. “Please see that my attorney, Lucy Lane, gets this suitcase that Supergirl was nice enough to provide.”

Cat would never forgive her if she made a scene. Kara watched helplessly as Cat strode out with the innate grace and power of her royal nickname. Another guard came to the door. “I’ll show you out, Supergirl.” He grinned, and Kara forced an answering smile. “We’re all bowing to her now. She’s something else.”

Yes. Cat was amazing. “She’d have ruled the High Council of Krypton with an iron fist.” She followed him out of the holding cells even as she strained her hearing to track Cat’s heartbeat. It was fast. Far too fast. Rao damn Dirk Armstrong and whoever had framed Cat. “Thank you.” The guard didn’t deserve to be the object of her anger and frustration. “Keep an eye on her for me?”

His eyes widened, and Kara knew she’d made yet another mistake by making such an inherently personal request. “Yes, ma’am, Ms. Supergirl. How…uh…I mean…”

“Just call my name.” Her bright, sunny smile was all muscle memory. Kara kept it in place as she strode out of the building and into the glare of news cameras and a swarm of reporters and microphones.

“Supergirl!” Her name bounced from one side of the horde to the other as every field reporter, stringer, and local blogger shouted to gain her attention.

Some days, Kara wondered if she’d hit her head when her pod landed. Or maybe there were long term side effects from her years in the Phantom Zone. How could she work for the largest media company in the world and not have anticipated that Supergirl visiting an incarcerated Cat Grant would be breaking news?

She struck a pose, letting her Supergirl persona take charge. “Patty?” CatCo always got the first question.

“You made a personal visit to see Cat Grant. Does that mean you think she’s innocent?”

Kara wanted to roll her eyes. Instead, she managed to widen her smile until her cheeks ached. “It’s important to allow the NCPD to complete its investigation, Patty.” The words nearly choked her. “However, I’ve never doubted Ms. Grant’s innocence.”

“That’s because you’re her puppet,” someone in the crowd mumbled.

Teeth grinding as she held her happy face together, Kara swept the group, hoping to find the speaker. It wasn’t hard to pinpoint him. He glared at her and pushed his agenda. “A suitcase for the Queen Bitch?”

“The FCC takes a dim view of that type of language.” Kara ‘s temper raged, and her face heated. If only turning him into a smoldering pile of ash wasn’t against her personal moral code. “I think I’ve got your point, though.” She couldn’t even snap at him. Not in The Suit. Letting a little of Kara Danvers creep in, Kara shrugged sheepishly. “Cat thought I’d lost my mind, too. After all this time on Earth, I forget that your legal system is so different than Krypton’s.” It wasn’t. She’d never forget her aunt in a gray bodysuit, devoid of the In-Ze crest and her military rank and awards.

She didn’t allow another question. Kara took control of the impromptu interview instead. “There are a lot of differences I forget,” she said sadly, “because Krypton’s been gone so long. When I realize I can’t remember the exact color of my mother’s eyes or the way the Science Guild looked in Rao’s fading light, Cat’s been there for me. All of you, every media outlet and social media platform, are quick to paint her as National City’s Queen of Mean.

“She’s not.” Kara’s grin was both wry and authentic. “Oh, she’s not afraid to verbally smack me down if I whine too much or when I get tired or hurt and it’s hard to accept that I couldn’t save everyone. Cat’s got sharp edges. She’s smart, driven, and successful.” She saw frowns in the crowd of reporters. “Patty can tell you that there’s more to Cat than being Queen. I researched her before I agreed to that first interview after I rescued the plane.”

It wasn’t a lie, exactly. Kara had been one of Cat’s adoring fans for years before applying at CatCo or becoming Supergirl. She knew all of the public facts about Cat Grant, and more than a few of the private ones, too. “Did you know CatCo was the first company in National City to provide on-site childcare for employees? Or that CatCo Worldwide has more women in director and above positions than any other company in the world?

“It’s easy to paint someone like Cat as a monster. Another rich, white woman who made her fortune by stomping on her competition. What’s not so easy is looking beyond that bias. Before you write an article damning her for clawing her way to the top and being accused of a murder she didn’t commit, take a look at the facts. _All_ of the facts.”

With one last wave and smile, Kara launched into the sky. It was _not_ her most graceful takeoff. Her knees, despite Sol’s gifts, shook like leaves in a high wind. She’d given what amounted to a press conference. An unplanned, unscripted press conference where she’d explicitly stated Cat was innocent and waxed poetic on Cat’s softer side. The first would have Lucy frothing at the mouth (and Alex, too). The second… Kara didn’t want to contemplate Cat’s reaction to having her reputation as a cold-hearted bitch ruined by Supergirl’s effusive praise.

Her phone buzzed, and Kara tapped her earpiece.

“I found it! I found it!” Winn shouted.

“Found what?” Kara paused outside the National City Bank tower, automatically waving at the workers who crowded the windows.

She could picture his puckish smile when he answered. “I found the meaning of life, Supergirl – and maybe the answer to Ms. Grant’s unfortunate trip to the pokey.”

“Are you still at CatCo?”

“Yeah.” His excitement was interrupted by a yawn. “Lucy and James headed home; Lucy said she needed sleep so she could be on her game. The DA set up a meeting in the morning. She thinks he’s going to offer a deal.”

In _Law and Order_ , a deal meant the DA thought he couldn’t win the case. Kara wanted to whoop in triumph. “I’ll pick up a pizza with pineapple and extra pepperoni and be there in fifteen.”

“Make it twenty. I want to hit the gym for a change of clothes and a shower.”

“You got it.” Kara hung up and called Angelino’s, Winn’s favorite pizzeria. “Hi! This is Kara Danvers. I’d like to order two large extra pepperoni and pineapples pizzas, a dozen large Meat Lovers, and an order of garlic bread.”

They were used to calls from Kara and promised to have the food ready by the time she arrived. She dropped out of the sky into yet another grimy alley where she’d left one of her many Supergirl-emergency changes of clothes.

Dressed in jeans and hoodie, Kara walked into Angelino’s right on time. A stack of pizza boxes waited on the counter. “It always smells so good in here!” she gushed.

“My favorite customer!” Mark (Angelino had been his grandfather) came around the counter to offer a hug. “Late night at the office? Or game night with that sister of yours?” He’d met Alex once and had been in love ever since.

“Late night, I’m afraid.” Kara gave a put-upon sigh. “The news never sleeps.”

Mark laughed and rang up the order. “We are always open for you, Ms. Kara. Call if you need a midnight snack.”

Picking up the boxes with a feigned grunt of effort, Kara nodded. “I’ll keep that in mind. I think I might be in for an all-nighter.” She ducked back down the alley but couldn’t bear changing into her suit again. Kara cradled the pizza against her chest and flew back to CatCo as quickly as she dared.

She used the roof to access the building. With Cat in jail and leading every news story across the globe, Kara knew every journalist and department head would be in their office or cubicle. All of them trying to find an angle or The Scoop to keep CatCo out in front of the story. She didn’t want one of them to try using Kara Danvers as source.

The War Room was empty and dark. All the blinds were drawn. The only illumination came from Winn’s row of monitors, all of them locked against prying eyes. Kara left the lights off and slumped into a chair. Praise Rao, she hoped Winn really had found the smoking gun they needed.

She heard Winn’s footsteps a few minutes later. “Hey.” His hair was wet, and the faded Superman T-shirt stretched tightly over his chest. “How was Ms. Grant?”

“You can’t see the scorch marks?”

Winn laughed. “Well, I didn’t want to mention your singed eyebrows.” His smile faded as he grabbed his pineapple and pepperoni pizza and sat down.

His expression put Kara back on full alert. “What did you find, Winn?” When he stuffed half a slice of pizza into his mouth rather than answer, Kara lost her appetite. Whatever Winn had uncovered, it wasn’t going to help them free Cat.

Typing and chewing, Winn unlocked his laptop. The row of connected monitors sprang to life; each showed an image of Cat’s penthouse. Every single image contained Cat and Supergirl.

Kara stood and moved slowly and carefully closer. Her gaze raked the monitors. Some of the startlingly clear stills were innocent. A superhero and her mentor sprawled on Cat’s designer couch as they talked and drank wine, jockeyed for position in Cat’s fabulous kitchen as pasta boiled on the stove, or huddled around the massive fire pit table in the rooftop garden.

Just gals being pals.

Not even the most generous interpretation of gal pals could cover the rest of the images. Kara, bare back framed by silk sheets, poised over an equally bare Cat; Kara pressed against the window in Cat’s home office, the top of The Suit gaping open.

“Why?”

Winn stared at his keyboard. “I think it has to do with the Alien Amnesty Act.”

Cat was one of the loudest supporters of President Marsden’s bill, but…framing her for murder? Putting cameras in her home? Kara couldn’t put the pieces together. “I don’t understand.”

Winn minimized the camera stills and pulled up a string of emails and financial statements. “The cameras were installed recently. I tracked the feed to a private security firm that contracts with the army.”

“The army, like General Lane army?”

“The one and the same.” Winn pointed to the monitor closest to Kara. “They aren’t run of the mill spy cameras, either.”

Enhanced vision made reading the information easy. “LuthorCorp.” Kara wanted to break things – because breaking people like Lex Luthor and Sam Lane violated her moral code. “How did a creep like Dirk even _know_ about Lane and Lex?”

More and more information flashed on the screens. “He didn’t. They came to him.”

Kara was finally catching up. “That argument. The one TMZ posted.” A snippet of a conversation taken out of context between Cat and Dirk after a board meeting the previous year. They’d been at each other’s throats over control of CatCo Worldwide (like always), but Cat had been particularly brutal in her assessment of Dirk’s skills. Luckily, TMZ had missed the jibe at Dirk’s manhood. Kara suspected Cat had been several fingers deep into the Scotch at that point in the day.

Kara hadn’t managed to wrest control of the office mini bar away from Cat at that point in their relationship.

“The emails started the day after,” Winn confirmed. “Offers to support Dirk in his bid to oust Ms. Grant in exchange for information and favors. Nothing too risky.”

“Enough to hook him, though.” How had none of them realized? Then Kara sighed and admitted the truth. They’d all written Dirk off as a stereotypical privileged white man who hated women in power. Not once had they peered beneath the surface layer of arrogance and misogyny.

“Things came to a head when Cat wrote that article promoting the Amnesty Act a couple of months ago.” Winn pointed to one particular email. “We’d never have found it if Dirk had been smart enough not to use his company-issued laptop. I still had to dig through some serious encryption to read it.”

The language in the email was far more demanding than in the older correspondence, and Dirk’s responses less confident.

 _I’ve spoken to the most likely supporters on the Board,_ he’d written. _I don’t have enough votes to oust her because of the holdouts._

“The cameras you found disappeared from the Hadrian International inventory the same afternoon. I think the cameras were backup. If Dirk couldn’t win over the board and vote Ms. Grant out of her own company, then the powers behind HI could use the recordings to blackmail her.” Winn ate another slice of pizza as Kara stared numbly at the evidence.

Dread ballooned in her stomach. “Why didn’t they use the recordings?” Although Kara had only gone to the penthouse as Supergirl (with a few truly work-related exceptions), outing Cat as bisexual and a literal alien lover would have thrown CatCo Worldwide and Cat, personally, into the fires of public opinion. Her support of the Alien Amnesty Act would be blackened with the taint of bias and sexual orientation.

“I don’t know.” Winn leaned back in his chair and yawned. “You know _we_ can’t use any of this, either, right? I mean, the emails to and from Dirk are fair game because he used CatCo property. But I had to bend lots of laws to break the encryption. Not to mention hacking the HI servers for that footage.”

Kara had spent enough time as Cat’s assistant to have her own work around. “Leak the information.”

All of Winn’s relaxation disappeared. “What?”

“ _We_ can’t use the information, and we can’t give it to Lucy. It’s the best shot we have at freeing Cat, though.” As soon as they had one final bit of video. “You’re already hooked into HI. Can you _add_ a video clip and alter the timestamp on it?”

“Can Superman leap tall buildings?”

Kara rolled her eyes. “Why would he want to?” Then she got down to business, reaching for her DEO cell phone.

* * *

Landing in front of the National City Criminal Justice Building, Kara hoped she wouldn’t lose her lunch. She’d faced Hellgrammites and an entire prison ship worth of alien criminals. Facing Cat, in full view of the paparazzi, was far scarier.

She threw back her shoulders and struck her Power Pose as the doors flew open. Lucy led the way, with Cat stalking close behind.

Reporters rushed at them until Kara stopped them in their tracks with a raised hand and flutter of her cape. Ignoring the shouted questions and the sardonic smile on Cat’s Iconic-painted lips, Kara stood and waited.

Police officers trailed after Cat and Lucy as they approached Kara.

The cacophony of voices grew around them. The din did nothing to block Cat’s whisper from Kara’s ears. _“:Bem ugahn, :zrhueiao_.” One slender hand latched onto Kara’s suit and pulled her in close.

Kara froze as warm lips pressed against hers and an adventurous tongue swept into her mouth. Lucy’s snicker and the sudden swell of silence from the press barely registered. Kara fell into Cat’s kiss. Their first public display of their relationship.

She blinked dazedly a minute later when Cat stepped back. Her lipstick was missing or smeared, and Kara raised a hand to find her own lips bearing the classic Dior red.

Kara might have stood there forever if Cat hadn’t tugged on her cape. “It’s not really your color, darling.” Reporters chuckled at the affectionate comment – and at the tissue Cat had removed from her purse and wiped over Kara’s lips. “Now, we’ll answer a few questions but I’m sure you understand I’m more interested in getting home to my son and my girlfriend.”

Standing straighter at that, Kara took a position at Cat’s shoulder…but didn’t quite dare to touch her. She’d outed them to the world when Winn had leaked the surveillance footage from the penthouse. Something Cat would never have allowed if Kara had consulted her.

“Ms. Grant! Cat!” Patty from CatCo called out. “How will your relationship with Supergirl affect your support of the Alien Amnesty Act?”

Hidden by her cape, Kara rested her hand on Cat’s hip. She should have known Cat didn’t need her reassurance and encouragement, though. “I expect better from one of my own reporters, Patty. Loving Supergirl – an _alien_ – gives me more motivation to ensure the Act passes.”

Cat loved her? Kara’s hand came out from the cape and settled on Cat’s shoulder, in plain view of every single camera.

Before any of the reporters asked another question, Cat ended the press conference. “It’s been a trying few days. I’m happy to be free and for the world to know I’m innocent thanks to the anonymous source who provided the video showing me and Supergirl in our home when Dirk Armstrong was murdered. We’ll release a statement in the next few days.”

Cat took Kara’s hand, linking their fingers. “Come along, Keira. Fill me in on the mess my directors have made of CatCo while I was away.” She snapped her fingers at the hunch-shouldered woman hidden among the throng of police officers with Lucy. “Chop! Chop!”

“Yes, Ms. Grant.” The deep voice didn’t match the youthful, feminine appearance. Nor did the flash of red behind the lenses of her glasses as “Keira” scuttled along in Cat’s wake.

**Author's Note:**

> zrhythrevium - family  
> Khap :zhao rrip - I love you  
> Sokao-, Cat - Please, Cat  
> Rrip nahn jolum, Kahrah - You are wrong, Kara  
> :Bem ugahn, :zrhueiao - good job, beautiful (as used here: well played, beautiful)


End file.
